{"id":29357,"date":"2022-03-04T01:29:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T01:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/04\/california-mental-health-crisis-newsom-unveils-new-strategy\/"},"modified":"2022-03-04T01:29:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T01:29:18","slug":"california-mental-health-crisis-newsom-unveils-new-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/04\/california-mental-health-crisis-newsom-unveils-new-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"California mental health crisis: Newsom unveils \u2018new strategy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s new proposal would require all 58 counties to participate in the program to compel people with serious mental illnesses into treatment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom today unveiled a much anticipated proposal to address a mental health crisis increasingly visible on trash-strewn sidewalks and in cramped jail cells around California.<\/p>\n

The proposal, known as the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (or CARE) Court<\/a>, would provide a framework for courts to compel people with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders into treatment, while also providing participants with supportive housing and wrap-around services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a completely new strategy,\u201d Newsom said at a press conference today to introduce the new plan.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I hope that creates a space for a different conversation than we\u2019ve had in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

All 58 counties would be required to participate in the program, which is currently just a policy framework and still needs to be approved by the Legislature. Counties could face penalties for failing to provide requisite services, administration officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a completely new strategy. And I hope that creates a space for a different conversation than we\u2019ve had in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

That\u2019s one of several details that differentiates this proposal from Laura\u2019s Law, which also entails court-ordered treatment but allows counties to decide whether they want to participate. Newsom noted that, in one year, only 218 people were served by Laura\u2019s Law. The Newsom administration estimates that the CARE Court program could serve between 7,000 and 12,000 Californians.<\/p>\n

Administration officials say the new proposal is different, in part, because of the resources it comes with. It builds on a $12 billion allocation to address homelessness last year, as well as another $2 billion proposed this year, they said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

People could come into the program through short-term involuntary hospital stays (also known as \u201c5150s\u201d), through the criminal justice system or at the recommendation of family members, mental health providers or first responders, among others. They would not need to be homeless to participate.<\/p>\n

The court would order a tailored plan involving some combination of housing, medication and services, and would offer the support of a full clinical team, as well as a public defender and a \u201csupporter\u201d who could help a participant make care decisions and prepare advanced mental health directives.<\/p>\n

Unlike with conservatorships, which can be indefinite, participation would be time limited \u2013 one year, with the possibility of an additional one-year extension.<\/p>\n

A stream of state and local leaders spoke to the urgency of the need at the news conference, held on the San Jose campus of Momentum for Health, a behavioral health treatment organization.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n